Spring Festival on Baikal Ice

A private Chinese New Year journey across the winter lake

About

BBT brings the Spring Festival to Baikal’s winter landscape through a private celebration in an illuminated ice grotto. The seven-day route begins and ends in Irkutsk, crosses the lake to Olkhon by hovercraft and combines ice formations, Cape Burkhan and the island’s northern headland with time for Siberian banya. The festive programme is arranged for one group, with quieter days either side of the main celebration.

Parameters

Season: Chinese New Year holiday period · exact dates to confirm
Duration: 7 days / 6 nights
Format: Closed private group · Capacity to confirm
Route: Irkutsk → Listvyanka → Olkhon → Tazherany → Irkutsk
Airports: Irkutsk / Irkutsk
Rhythm: Festive ice programme with recovery days
Physical activity: Winter walks and ice travel · Optional skating and buggies
Best suited to: Private groups marking the Spring Festival in a winter setting
Est. price per person: $15,500

Day 01: Arrival in Historic Irkutsk
A gentle first day allows guests to settle after flying before the winter crossing.
Experience
Private airport reception; an approximately three-hour guided introduction to Irkutsk and its historic centre.
Arrangements
Time to rest at RODINA and a free evening.
Snow-covered historic wooden and stone houses on a street in Irkutsk
Day 02: Across the Lake to Olkhon
The approach to the island becomes the first Baikal experience, through ice and rock rather than a routine road transfer.
Experience
Road transfer to Listvyanka; hovercraft passage across Baikal past Ogoy Island’s Dragon Cape.
Arrangements
Private vehicle and hovercraft; lakeside accommodation and dinner at Port Olkhon.
Hovercraft on the clear cracked ice of Lake Baikal
Day 03: Spring Festival in the Ice Grotto
Baikal’s transparent ice becomes the setting for a celebration designed specifically for the visiting group.
Experience
Shaman Rock and Cape Burkhan; hovercraft route on Maloye More with natural ice grottoes and ice formations; private festive evening in a grotto.
Arrangements
Carefully lit ice setting, hot drinks and snacks; skating and buggy driving by choice on cleared and approved ice.
Warm light glowing at the end of an ice grotto hung with icicles
Day 04: Warmth After the Ice
The day deliberately slows, balancing the previous evening with time for Siberian bathing traditions.
Experience
Free morning by the shore; Russian banya, hot tub and a Buryat dinner hosted by a woman from Olkhon.
Arrangements
Professional bath master; steaming adapted to personal comfort; ice-hole swimming by choice.
Wooden banya with a steaming hot tub on the frozen shore of Baikal at sunset
Day 05: Northern Olkhon and the Open Lake
The journey travels from the enclosed ice landscapes to the wider scale of Baikal’s northern island coast.
Experience
Northbound island outing to Cape Khoboy and views over the open lake; route towards the area of Baikal’s greatest depths.
Arrangements
Return to Port Olkhon for a quiet evening; precise route governed by actual ice conditions.
Aerial view of Cape Khoboy and the cracked ice of northern Olkhon
Day 06: Tazherany Above Baikal
An outdoor lunch among Tazherany’s rocky highlands makes the return transfer a final landscape experience.
Experience
Hovercraft to the mainland; scenic stops in Tazherany; private lunch with an elevated lake view.
Arrangements
Onward transfer to RODINA in Irkutsk and dinner featuring historical Pribaikalye cuisine.
Travellers at a lunch table on a rocky cliff above the frozen lake
Day 07: Departure
Breakfast and private transport complete the Spring Festival journey.
Experience
Private airport transfer from Irkutsk accommodation.
Driver loading suitcases into a black minivan on a snowy city street